


Shards of Glass

by cathinda1



Series: Broken Pieces [1]
Category: Peaky Blinders (TV)
Genre: F/M, Will contain violence
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-02-17
Updated: 2018-02-18
Packaged: 2019-03-20 11:14:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 3
Words: 9,732
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13716513
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cathinda1/pseuds/cathinda1
Summary: After the war men were like glass, fragile and broken, sharp and jagged, likely to cut, broken. They were all like the smashed whisky tumbler which was a common sight now. As were the men who were terrified of the factories and the bangs that reminded them oh so much of the guns and bombs. They were like glass that had been stuck back together, one wrong move and it would shatter. The women who came back weren’t much better, they felt like they were still holding a dying man’s hand, telling lies that he will be fine, forcing themselves not to break, they were egg shells, so delicate if too much pressure is put on them wrong.Tommy Shelby was like a glass cracking under pressure while Hazel Mercia was an egg shell beyond recovery, they need a miracle if the childhood sweethearts are to make it back to being happy rather than cold and murderous gangsters.





	1. Shards of Glass

**Author's Note:**

> When Hazel Mercia moved to Small Heath from the Highlands of Scotland, she finds herself with a family greater than any she could've dreamed of, thankful to her aunt and uncle she falls in love with Tommy Shelby but with the War, the two may loose more than they ever bargained for...

Hazel Mercia flexed her hand against her pillow as her deep grey eyes fluttered open beneath her thick blonde lashes. The sun was barely rising but she couldn’t help waking so early, it had been her first night in Small Heath. Her heart was pounding from her dreams, her brother beating her while her mother and father were gone. After a few minutes she managed to pull herself from her bed, catching a glance of herself in the mirror. After only one day she could almost see the difference in her appearance; her red hair seemed limp on her head but was still holding the loose ringlets, her thunderstorm grey eyes seemed darker by a few shades and her eyes were pink and puffy underneath due to all the crying she’d done in the past two days.

At only 10 years old, Hazel should’ve been out and laughing with her friends but her brother had tried to kill her so she’d been taken to Small Heath by her aunt Nellie and her uncle Harold. They didn’t have any children of their own so their house held the space, which much was becoming obvious to Hazel in the light of the morning rather than the darkness of the night before. 52 Watery Lane wasn’t the largest of houses but it had more than enough space for the three, to Hazel the house was tiny and would fit in just a small area of her old home but it felt more comfortable than the cold manor filled with servants and maids who did everything for her.

A noise behind her snapped Hazel from her thoughts as she snapped her head round and saw her uncle stood looking at her with sorrowful eyes,  
“I’m sorry… Anyway. There are a load of kids around this area if you wanna go out an’ try an’ make some friend’s.” Hazel looked down and then met Harold’s eyes,  
“Uncle Harry? What did I do to make James attack me?” The small girls eyes brimmed with tears as Harold wrapped his arms around her,  
“You didn’t do anythin’. Why not go and get dressed an’ then go explore?” The girl nodded before scampering up the stairs and dressing speedily. Just as she reached the top step, there was a clear knocking at the door, Harold opened it to reveal four children who didn’t look much older than Hazel,  
“Hi Mr Mercia! We saw a girl arrive yesterda’ and well a load o’ us are goin’ to the field and were wonderin’ if she wanted to come too!” Called the only girl in the group, Hazel’s eyes searched the group before she smiled at her uncle hopefully,  
“Can I? Please.” Harold chucked but nodded and with that, Hazel grabbed her jacket before dashing out the door to join the children,  
“What’s your name?” Asked the smallest boy, Hazel pulled at the sleeve of her jacket,  
“Hazel Mercia, Hayleigh if you wanna get cut, and I’m 12 years old. What about you lot?” They were all walking towards another group of kids,  
“Well I’m John Shelby and I’m 12 too.” The smallest boy answered,  
“Arthur Shelby, 15.” His voice held a thick Birmingham accent.  
“Tommy Shelby, Thomas if you wanna get cut, and 13.” Hazel smiled at him as he smirked back,  
“Nice to meet you, Thomas.”  
“The pleasure is all mine Hayleigh.” The little girl with them huffed slightly,  
“Well. I’m Ada and I turned 10 on Saturday.” Hazel was still looking into Tommy’s striking blue eyes as she said hi to the rest of the Shelby kids. The kids were out all day, messing around in the green just outside Watery Lane. It was 1907, the kids were just wanting fun and that’s what they were doing.

The years passed and a friendship formed between Hazel and the Shelby kids since their father left having abandoned a baby on the doorstep of 6 Watery Lane 2 years after Hazel had arrived, the friends had become tighter than ever before. To John, Hazel was like a big sister and to Arthur she was a little sister and best friend, they had the sort of relationship where they would either help the other hide a body or it was the others body that they would be hiding. To Ada, Hazel was the best friend a girl could hope for, Hazel was able to get through to any of the boys easily. And yet it was Tommy who she had formed the closest bond with, they called each other Thomas and Hayleigh and were pretty much the only ones that did, they had been in love since she was 12 and he was 13 but it was only when she was 15 that Tommy asked her out. To little Finn, Hazel had become a sort of mother who would look after him if Aunt Polly was too busy looking after the rest of the Shelby kids.

Hazel and Tommy were sat away from the rest of the kids just talking,  
“So, what made you go by Hazel?”  
“My mama and papa used to call me it, my papa was a merchant who went to Asia where there was hazel plants and it was around the same time that mama was pregnant with me so it became my nickname. Why do you go by Tommy?” They were both asking questions that they’d never bothered with before,  
“Dunno, guess it was what mum called me so I stuck with it after she died.” He said with a shake of his head and a shrug of his shoulders. He glanced over to Hazel who was looking at the factories,  
“Beautiful isn’t it?” She said sarcastically,  
“Yeah, absolutely stunning.” Tommy responded with a smirk,  
“Back in Scotland, on the Highlands, mama always said that looking over factories was like watching a heart, that every leaping flame was a beat of the industrial heart. I’m sure that she was mad.” Tommy laughed slightly at Hazel’s final comment.  
“What d’you wanna do with your life, Thomas?” Hazel turned to look at him, “cause I know that I’ve got the Mercia Shipments Company to run but what d’you wanna do?” He shook his head and looked away,  
“No you’ll laugh at me.” He stated causing Hazel to giggle,  
“I won’t, I promise.” He glared at her playfully,  
“The fact that you’re gigglin’ ain’t defending you much there, Hayleigh.” She nodded at him while trying to bite down a laugh,  
“Please, just tell me.” Tommy sighed,  
“Fine. I wanna work with horses.” Hazel stopped and looked at him,  
“Really?” She asked shocked, Tommy smacked her arm playfully in response,  
“C’mon, they’ll be wondering where we got to.” Tommy said as he stood and helped Hazel up.

The others were all messing around by the lake, Arthur didn’t come out as much now that he was 22 and had to work. Tommy and Hazel walked down the hill towards the other but as they reached the bottom, a large ball of mud hit Tommy square in the chest causing silence to reign over the group as Tommy looked murderous, Hazel started to laugh silently to which John and Ada joined in until the three plus some of Tommy’s friends were all laughing as Tommy lifted some mud and placed it on Hazel’s head. Pretty soon the mud fight was in full swing and no one was safe as ball of mud and water flew everywhere, covering all the kids head to toe, Arthur had joined them after work and was also fully coated in a layer of mud and water by now.

Night fell over Small Heath making the group of more than 16 kids return home, all laughing and messing around. They all arrived at the doors of their homes, Hazel was holding the hand of her five year old cousin Pearl while Tommy took 5 year old Finn home. Heading inside, both Nellie and Harold clicked their tongues at the state of the two girls while Nellie held 3 month old Charlotte in her arms,  
“Go and get cleaned up.” Harold said with a shake of his head and a smile. A lot had changed since Hazel had arrived in Small Heath, she had gained a family that loved her and she loved, she had gained friends who were so much more than any she’d had in Scotland, she had a home. She felt safe, loved, important, and cherished. It was April 30th 1914.

The feeling of safety was torn from Hazel less than 3 months later when war was declared across Europe. It was the 14th of September when Tommy, John and Arthur were shipped out along with Freddie Thorne, Danny Owens and many others who Hazel had spent the last 7 years with. Suddenly her family was torn away from her and she was lost and alone, not to mention terrified. Finally after only 2 weeks she signed up as a nurse before being shipped out only a week later.

It was 1916 and Hazel was no longer the happy child she’d been before she came to France but now she was icy and cold to anyone. She was dealing with just finishing up sewing up a patient when 3 men, tunnelers were brought in, three men she recognised, handing her task over to another nurse she ran to one of the men’s sides, he had a stab wound on his shoulder, clearly from a bayonet, Hazel began handing out orders to a few other nurses while she whispered calming words into Tommy’s ear as his hand clenched tightly around hers,  
“Ha-Hayl-Hayleigh?” His voice was hoarse and almost drowned out by the cries of other wounded,  
“Hey you.” She muttered as she took her hand from his to clean and sort out his wound trying to avoid looking at Freddie or Danny but she couldn’t, her heart was pounding in her chest as she looked at three of her closest friends. All in pain…

Hazel snapped awake from where she lay in Tommy’s arms, she quickly felt for his pulse at his wrist before letting out a breath upon feeling it at its usual pace. Tommy opened his eye at met hers, the dark patches were getting more noticeable now but it wasn’t that that worried them both but the fact that neither were sleeping more than 1 or 2 hours at a time. The coldness that surrounded them both was less when alone but it wasn’t invisible, they knew one thing for certain, it would take a miracle for them to smile full again.

After the war men were like glass, fragile and broken, sharp and jagged, likely to cut, broken. They were all like the smashed whisky tumbler which was a common sight now. As were the men who were terrified of the factories and the bangs that reminded them oh so much of the guns and bombs. They were like glass that had been stuck back together, one wrong move and it would shatter. The women who came back weren’t much better, they felt like they were still holding a dying man’s hand, telling lies that he will be fine, forcing themselves not to break, they were egg shells, so delicate if too much pressure is put on them wrong.

However Tommy and Hazel hadn’t noticed it at all, the first one to realise it was Finn. When Hazel had been putting him to bed that first night back, she hadn’t sung, hadn’t kissed his forehead, hadn’t told him that the stars would make his dreams come true. He had been the one who noticed her smile was stiff and fake. Just like Pearl had noticed her cry silently when she woke up at 4am before heading out and to Tommy, Pearl saw her cousin become vicious and saw her become one of the highest in the Peaky Blinders. Hazel was an egg shell that was breaking while Tommy was a glass that was cracking.


	2. Splinters of Wood

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> When Hazel finds out about a robbery Thomas has been involved in, she can't help but feel herself lost in France, stuck in the mud. When Tommy promises to lift her from the mud and bring her home, smiles begin to return but the frost and ice doesn't leave.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok so I can't write sex scenes so don't expect to see them in detail but as this story carries on there will be comments of sex and such forth.

Hazel stretched as she woke early, her hand grazing over Tommy’s space on the bed, empty but still warm. Opening her eyes she saw him pulling his holster over his shoulders and sliding his gun into place, “Hope ye were no’ thinkin’ ye could leave withou’ sayin’ goodbye,” her Scottish accent was thicker now, laced with sleep. Tommy turned at the sudden sound of her soft voice, meeting her thunderstorm grey eyes with his blue ones, “Never, Hayleigh, I didn’t want to wake you,” he lied. Tommy did hate waking her, yes, but he also hadn’t intended to say goodbye. He leant over and placed a delicate kiss against her ruby lips, “hmm. Right. Thomas, I know ye, something is filling yer mind and ye haven’t told me what.” He smirked at her as he walked out the door, refusing to tell her but the smirk had told her that it wasn’t dangerous.

Ten minutes passed before Hazel made her way downstairs towards the betting shop, passing Finn, she ruffled the young boy’s hair, “You don’t sing anymore.” The child stated causing Hazel to stop in her tracks, “What’d ye mean, Finn?” Finn looked down to his feet, kicking at the floor as Hazel’s eyes were more sharp than she intended as were her words, “Well before you went away, you would sing as you said goodnight to me, you’d sing all the time. You don’t anymore.” Hazel dropped her eyes, she knew that the war had affected her but she had hoped that it wouldn’t affect her relationship with Finn, “Listen to me Finn, a lot happened in France that ye cannae understand. One day things will be back to how they used to be.” Her face pulled tight into a smile before she stood and headed into the betting shop, she held herself strong though it was clear she’d been crying more and more. The War had taken its toll on Hazel shed seen thousands of men die.

Hazel stood in the doorway watching the happenings of the betting shop. Men of all ages were inside laying bets, while John changed the numbers on the board and Arthur was doing god knows what in his office. She closed the doors and walked into her own office to sort out the cash flow of Shelby Company Ltd before she headed across to the Mercia Shippers Cooperation. Tommy arrived back at the house and began making his way towards the back, passing into the living room he caught Finn smoking a cigarette.  
“Finn!” He called, causing the boy to throw the cigarette towards the fire,  
“Arthur’s mad as Hell,” the boy said with a nod to Tommy while the man lifted the cigarette butt from the floor sending a pointed look to the child,  
“And what does a 10 year old know about Hell? Aye?” Tommy questioned as he playfully hit the child on the head with the back of his cap,  
“I’m 11 Sunday! Oh and Hazel’s been crying again.” Tommy stopped as he heard Hazel’s name but knowing that she was likely inside the betting shop, he carried on in.

Hazel looked out of her office and saw Tommy heading towards John and Arthur. All she needed to do was avoid catching his eye for a little while but she could hear John calling Tommy over all the noise,  
“Look at the book! Look!” She couldn’t help but smile, John was perhaps the least changed by the war, the others all became angry and cold towards well everyone but it was John who’d come home to kids and knew that he had not lost all himself over in the mud. About five minutes passed before the door to Hazel’s office opened and closed, “Hayleigh. Finn said you’d been crying again. Please just let me help, I can't sit by and do nothing while you suffer,” without even looking up from the book she was working in Hazel spoke,  
“There’s nothing ye can do.” Tommy let out a breath,  
“I know how you feel… well I know some of what you feel.” Hazel finally looked at him,  
“I know you do, Thomas but at the same time, you have no idea. I lied to men, telling them they would be fine when I knew they were dead. A lot of the time I felt like it was me holding the gun and I was sending them to death.” Tommy came over to Hazel and sat down in the second chair in her office,  
“I will keep you safe, I know that since the War, the pair of us ain’t been here but I will keep you safe even when I trust no one. Not even me.”  
“Thomas, I can't expect you to wait for me to come back from France, it won’t happen. I know that you’ve seen it, they all have and yet they don’t speak.” Tommy wrapped his arms around Hazel, her tear finally spilling again,  
“Shit, I can't stop it. It's like I’m still over there, we’re at war here but I’m still lost over there, screaming for someone to find me and yet no one’s listening.”  
“Well I’m listening now Hayleigh, I will find you and lift you from the mud and bring you back on home here with me. Aye?” Hazel smiled at Tommy, placing a gentle kiss on his lips,  
“I know and that’s why I love you.” She grasped her arms tighter around him,  
“I have to go and make a business deal now, can I steal some Blinders to come with me, people take me more seriously that way.” Tommy chuckled but nodded as he untangled himself from Hazel and called at four of the Blinders before he ordered them to stick with Hazel until her deal had been set.

Arriving at the Shippers main offices, Hazel headed into her office and only had to wait a few minutes before her secretary lead in two men,  
“Mr Danby and Mr Rustler to see you Ms Mercia.” Hazel inwardly smirked as the two men looked over at her with slightly widened eyes,  
“Ah, gentlemen, take a seat.” She motioned to the other side of her desk the two men sat quickly, “Well, you told my secretary that you wanted to make a deal, what is it?” Her voice was sharp and formal, making the four Blinders look at each other they saw Hazel with a sharp voice but it was rarely formal,  
“Well, we have a whisky distillery in Glasgow that makes almost 500 bottles of finest Scotch whisky every month but we ourselves don’t have a shipping licence to get the whisky sent around the world. You company holds such a licence.”  
“That it does. Why do you seem so at edge Mr Danby?” Hazel knew the answer but wanted to make the man squirm,  
“Well, I had assumed that we were to be dealing with a man.” His voice was quiet,  
“Trust me, my being a female doesn’t inhibit my ability to make a business deal.” The man nodded, “I didn’t assume it did, I was under the impression I would be dealing with someone who served -” Hazel scoffed,  
“And because I’m a woman you think I didn’t serve? I received a Red Cross Class 2. Don’t tell me I didn’t serve when I saved the lives of hundreds of men. Get out of my office. Trust me you won’t be shipping with Mercia any time soon.” The two men spluttered but the four Blinders made sure that they were gone pretty quick.  


Hazel looked at the four men for a moment before the door opened,  
“A Mr Shelby to see you –” Hazel laughed,  
“And which one might that be, Amanda?” Arthur stepped into the room,  
“This one.” Hazel smiled stiffly as Arthur came over and sent away the four other men. Hazel met his eyes slightly before dropping her gaze again,  
“What’s with denying a deal?” Arthur questioned causing Hazel to look at him incredulously,  
“We make more than £200 a day with our shipments and contracts. Next year that will increase to £300, then £350 the following year, and that’s without adding any extra clients, Arthur, I can afford to deny deals.” Arthur looked at her,  
“And yet you live in grubby old Small Heath.” He chuckled at his dear friend.  
“Yeah well, it’s my home.” Arthur looked at Hazel, the two had been friends for over 12 years now and were always there for each other, they were each other’s closest confidante after Tommy and Polly.  
“What do you want, Arthur?” He nodded as if remembering something,  
“Family meeting, 8 o’clock, I want you there.” Hazel nodded in response as Arthur swiftly stood up, knocking the desk as he did, and left, her breath slipped from her throat, her and Arthur were close yes but in these months since the war, times had become painful for them both, they wanted to trust each other like they had before the War but they couldn’t.

A few hours passed before Hazel stood and headed to 6 Watery Lane where she waited in the pantry before she was joined by Polly, John and Tommy. The four headed into the back room where the rest of the family had gathered, John and Polly took their seats at the table while Tommy and Hazel remained stood leaning slightly against the wall. Arthur began to speak loud and confident causing Tommy and Hazel to glance at each other sideways,  
“I’ve called this family meeting because I’ve got some very important news, Scudboat and Lovelock got back from Belfast last night, they were in a pub on the Shank Hill road yesterday and in that pub was a copper ‘anding out these.” Tommy was watching Arthur like a hawk almost like he was waiting for his brother to slip up while the older man passed out some leaflets,  
“’If you’re over five foot and can fight come to Birmingham.’” John read aloud,  
“They’re recruiting protestant Irishmen to come over here as specials.” Arthur explained, Ada looked around the group,  
“To do what?” She asked, a question that most people were wanting to ask, “To clean up the city, Ada.” Hazel explained before Arthur had a chance to speak,  
“He’s a Chief Inspector. The last four years he’s been clearing the IRA out of Belfast.” Tommy finished,  
“how do you know so bloody much?” Arthur asked, eyes darting between the two, “Because I asked the coppers on our payroll.” Tommy said, internally rolling his eyes,  
“And men talk, my shippers know people all around, they know him, and his brutal methods, they told me to let me know, they're good like that.” She said with a nod. Her voice was almost condescending but she didn’t speak with lies.  
“Why didn’t you tell me?” Arthur growled, he hated when the two kept this sort of thing from him.  
“We’re telling you.” Tommy fired back, Polly looked at Tommy and then to Hazel,  
“So why are they sending him to Birmingham?” Tommy met her eyes,  
“Well there’s been all these bloody strikes at the BSA and Austin Works lately. Now the papers are talking about sedition. And revolution. I reckon it’s communists he’s after.” Tommy’s voice didn’t waver as he spoke his lie but Hazel knew better,  
“So this copper’s gonna leave us alone, right?” Polly asked while Hazel glanced at Tommy,  
“There are Irishmen in Greens Lane who left Belfast to try and get away from him.” Tommy said again,  
“They said Catholic men who crossed him used to disappear in the night, it was rare that they were ever heard from again.” Hazel added, Tommy glance over to her, the pair of them were often spinning lies mixed with truths to the family before they would explain to the other what was actually going on later that night,  
“Yeah but we ain’t IRA! We bloody fought for the king.” John snapped,  
“Anyway we’re Peaky Blinders. We’re not scared of fucking coppers! If they come for us, we’ll cut them a smile each.” Tommy and Hazel shared a look, in that look Tommy confirmed Hazel’s suspicions that there was more going on than what he was telling.  
“So Arthur. That it?” Tommy asked as he and Hazel turned back to look at everyone, steel back in their eyes, no sign of the care that their eyes usually held when they were together.  
“What’d you think Aunt Pol?” Arthur asked the woman, she glanced over at Tommy and Hazel,  
“This family does everything open. You have nothing more to say to this meeting Thomas?” Tommy shook his head,  
“No. Nothing that’s women’s business.” He stated coolly, Hazel knew that that didn’t include her,  
“This whole bloody enterprise was women’s business while you lot were away at War. What changed?” Her voice was equally as harsh and Tommy’s,  
“We came back.” He stated simply before turning and leaving with Hazel next to him.

Hazel looked at Tommy, taking his hand and leading them outside and down to the house she owned at 27 Watery Lane, leading him inside, she closed the door silently behind them before looking directly at Tommy,  
“So, what’s going on Thomas?” Her voice was softer now than it had been at the meeting,  
“I take it the deal didn’t go well.” He stated knowing he was messing with fire,  
“Don’t try and change the fucking topic, what the hell is going on Tommy?” He met her eyes,  
“It was meant to be routine. I had a buyer in London for some motorcycles. I asked my men to steal me four bikes with petrol engines. I’m guessing my men were drunk. There’s a still inside the factory makes tram line gin... They picked up the wrong fucking crate.” Hazel looked at Tommy,  
“What did they pick up?” Her voice was still gentle but held fear,  
“The boys delivered it to Charlie’s Yard as agreed. They must’ve taken it from the proofing bay instead of the export bay.” Hazel looked at him with eyes telling him to continue,  
“Inside the crate we found twenty five Lewis machine guns with ten thousand rounds of ammunition. Fifty semi-automatic rifles, two hundred pistols with shells.”  
“Holy shit Thomas.” Her voice was a terrified whisper,  
“All bound for Libya. Sitting right there in Charlie Strong’s yard.”  
“Fucking hell Thomas. What’ve you done with ‘em?” Her voice held fear now as Tommy spoke but he placed a caring hand on her shoulder,  
“We put them in the stables out of the rain. The guns hadn’t been greased yet.” Hazel’s eyes widened,  
“You need to tell Polly. She needs to know, fuck everyone else but tell her. Please Thomas.” Tommy nodded before pulling Hazel into his arms,  
“I will Hayleigh, I will.” Hazel pulled back suddenly,  
“She’ll be in church now, go and tell her now and then come back here, we’ll spend the night here, there’s more space.” Tommy nodded before placing a soft kiss on Hazel’s forehead letting his arms fall from around her. He headed off to find Polly and explain while Hazel went into the living room, dropping onto the sofa but couldn’t shake the guns from her mind.

Night quickly fell thick and dark before Tommy returned. Hazel was stood in the kitchen pouring herself a glass of Scotch whisky as she heard the door open and close. Grabbing her gun from the counter, Hazel turned around only to find herself pointing it at Tommy,  
“Don’t hold back on my account,” he muttered as he walked over and grabbed a second glass, pouring some of the whisky into a glass, taking a swig, he pulled a face,  
“How can you drink that stuff?” Hazel laughed,  
“You just can't handle proper whisky, you stick to that Irish stuff.” She said with a smile,  
“Yeah well I prefer that whiskey to whatever it is that you drink.”  
“Edradour!” She called over to him. The two were always joking about things like what the other drank but it was always in good nature and it generally stopped them thinking about the Hell going on around them.

Morning arose over Small Heath and Arthur had headed to the pictures, Tommy was working on some business while Hazel was keeping an eye on Finn and her four cousins as she’d promised her aunt and uncle. Suddenly the door was pulled open,  
“Hazel. I need you to come with me.” Tommy called through the house causing the five kids to look up to the woman,  
“Well I need someone to keep an eye on this lot!” Ada came in,  
“I’ll do it.” Hazel grabbed her jacket and went with Tommy to the Shelby household. Stepping inside she saw Arthur covered in blood,  
“Tommy. I’m gonna need a bottle of rum, John get me 2 sticks or something I can use as a splint, Pol, I’m gonna need bandages.” The three hurried off while Hazel grabbed a bowl of water, John and Polly were back while Hazel was wiping the blood from Arthur’s face with the wet cloth. She took the two splinters of wood from John and fastened them to Arthur’s finger with the bandages from Polly. Tommy arrived in,  
“Here let me see ‘im,” he called as he came over with the bottle of rum. Pouring some onto a cloth he wiped the rest of blood from Arthur’s face while Hazel finished setting his finger,  
“He said Mr Churchill sent him to Birmingham.” Tommy and Hazel shared a look before Tommy caught Polly’s eye,  
“Don’t use that finger for a week,” Arthur nodded as Hazel slipped into her nurse mode.  
“National interest, he said. He said there’d been a robbery. He said he wants us to help him.” John scoffed,  
“We don’t help fucking coppers.” Arthur ignored his brother while looking between Tommy and Hazel who were both stood and were avoiding looking at each other,  
“He knew all about our war records. He said we’re patriots like him.” He hissed slightly as Hazel held the rum soaked cloth against another one of his wounds perhaps harder than necessary,  
“He said he wants us to be his eyes and ears.” Hazel and Tommy shared another glance both knowing what the copper was after, Polly watched the pair with suspicious eyes knowing for a fact now that Hazel knew about the guns,  
“I told him we’d have a family meeting and a vote.” Arthur looked directly at Tommy, his eyes darting from the man to Hazel, both said nothing,  
“Why not? We have no truck with communists. Or Fenians.” There was still nothing said by either of the pair,  
“What the fuck is wrong with you? Polly, what is wrong with him lately? Both of ‘em?” Polly shrugged, glaring at the two,  
“If I knew, I’d buy the cure from Compton’s chemists.” Polly snapped, the two left.

Night fell and Hazel and the brothers headed to the Garrison where a young woman was stood singing. As she finished, Harry bravely approached the group,  
“We haven’t had singing in here since the War.” Hazel was glaring at the woman while Tommy glared at the barman,  
“Why’d you think that is Harry?” Hazel had always sung at the Garrison on Friday nights before the War, since coming home she’d yet to sing again. No one sung in the Garrison anymore.

Heading home, Tommy and Hazel headed to bed, Tommy lit his opium pipe before he lay down. Hazel curled against him, using his arm as her pillow as she focused on hearing his heartbeat through his chest, he wrapped his arms around her holding her close, almost like they were both terrified that being back in Birmingham was just a dream and when they awoke they’d be back in France and the other would be gone. Only about 3 hours later, Tommy snapped awake, Hazel already wide awake with wide eyes in his arms, she reached for his wrist finding his pulse point ad feeling it steady, it wasn’t much but it soothed her knowing that it was real and not a dream. Tommy sat up carefully,  
“I’ve got to head out and do something, I’ll be back in about 20 minutes, aye.” Hazel nodded and let go of Tommy’s wrist letting the man stand. By the time Tommy arrived back, Hazel was sound asleep. He smiled seeing her sleeping, a softness returned to her features that hadn’t been seen since she came back from France. Tommy let out a breath and lay down beside her. He only had about an hour before he had to go and do something for the Italians, he had to kill Danny Whiz Bang.

Morning arose and Tommy headed out before Hazel awoke, he knew that that was a bad move, it terrified her to wake up alone, she felt like she was still in France when she did. She silently headed downstairs to where Polly and Finn were sat and Finn was eating breakfast and talking about Pearl, Hazel and Polly couldn’t help sharing a smile, both knowing that Finn had a crush, apparently Tommy had been the exact same about Hazel. Tommy passed through the room and into the betting shop, the three still in the kitchen could hear Arthur yelling before a swift silence filled the area. Finn was still taking away about Pearl this and Pearl that, Hazel found herself stifling a laugh,  
“I’ve got to go. There’s… some business that I need to attend to…” She lied but swiftly stood and left the building. She pulled her coat tight around her in the early February cold as snow fell gently across the road.

Hazel ended up finding out that she really did have business to attend to by the time she was anywhere close to finishing, it was late and Tommy had arrived to collect her and take her home. Hazel smiled slightly as the door opened to reveal Tommy,  
“Have you come to rescue me, Thomas?” Tommy chuckled,  
“Only if you want to be, Hayleigh.” She smiled at him again and stood, he grabbed her coat and placed it over her shoulders, earning him a glare but for the first time in a long time, it was a playful glare as she slid her arms into her coat before linking her arm with Tommy’s and placing her hand just beneath his elbow. He lead her from the office and the two walked down the street, passing the Garrison as Tommy passed Hazel a cigarette and putting one in his own mouth, lighting both, they caught sight of the new barmaid, Hazel looked at her suspiciously, the woman seemed to be constantly watching Hazel and Tommy. Tommy had noticed as well but at the moment it meant nothing, she was just someone who’d ended up in Small Heath.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for the reviews on the last chapter, the next chapter is already underway, I am on school holiday for a week so I'm hoping to upload a fair few chapters and update other stories so keep an eye out :)


	3. Embers of Fire

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> With a war with the Lee family imminent and coppers searching for guns, Hazel feels herself returning to herself, lifting from the mud she struggles to find her place in a world where women are down trodden and business deals aren't easy to get with a woman at the helm. With Cheltenham approaching and coppers fighting the Blinders. Time becomes a luxury, one which Tommy and Hazel finally seem to have.

Hazel awoke with a start, her hands reaching out for Tommy only to remember him gone, he and his brothers had gone off to the fair for the day, and they’d be back later that afternoon, the noises outside grabbed Hazel’s attention, her heart still pounding in her chest as the images from her nightmares flashed in her mind. She made her way over to the window only to see police smashing open doors and dragging men and women from their homes, throwing furniture from the doors. There were none touching her family’s home, nor her home and nor the Shelby home where she lay in bed.

Heading downstairs, Polly was just returning and the police were leaving the street.  
“What the fuck happened?” Polly chuckled at the other woman.   
“I take it you know what they are looking for?” Hazel nodded,  
“The guns?” Polly gave a curt nod,  
“They think it’s the communists who have ‘em.” Hazel smirked,  
“Well that’s good for us then. Isn’t it?” At that moment then the door burst open, the boys were back it had taken all morning for the coppers to do their raid,  
“The coppers told everyone that Arthur had agreed to it when he was arrested. Said you boys cleared out to the fair to let ‘em do it.” Arthur hit the table,  
“I never said nothin’ to that copper about smashin’ up bloody houses!” Arthur yelled,  
“Alright.” Tommy sighed, “What pubs did they do?”   
“The Guns, The Chain, The Marquis, all the ones that pay you to protect ‘em, the only one they didn’t touch was The Garrison.” Polly listed making Hazel scoff quietly,  
“Make sure people thought we were in on it.” She growled, Polly met the other woman’s eyes,  
“He’s smart this copper.” Breaking eye contact with Hazel, Polly looked at the rest of the people in the room,  
“So go on. Drink your beers. Get out. You’d better show people that you’re still the cocks of the war.” The men were quick as Tommy handed out orders telling them all what to do as he stayed stood against the side of the mantle.  
“What’re you gonna do?” Arthur questioned as he stood from his seat at the table,  
“I need to go to Charlie’s to stable the horse. It looked foot sore in the box.” Arthur nodded, not believing the younger man’s lie but not questioning it for now. Arthur left the room leaving only Tommy and the two women, as the doors closed, Polly spoke,  
“So we all know what they’re after.” She looked from Tommy to Hazel and back again, the two were looking at each other having one of their silent discussions while they determined what to do.

Tommy was often the one who would make decisions but if Hazel didn’t agree with him he’d often find an alternate, now though, he could see a glint in her eye that was hoping to cause trouble. She had a way at finding issues to get under the skin of the coppers. Tommy was a business man but while Hazel appeared to be a business woman, she’d grown up around gangs with her eldest brother being a notorious gangster in Scotland, he'd said to be responsible for the murder Hazel’s next eldest brother – the one who’d beat her. She knew how to find the trouble that would get them on the higher ground.

Tommy and Polly carried on the conversation while Hazel watched closely without paying that much attention, well that was until Tommy said something about striking a blow back first. Tommy met Hazel’s eye with a smile, that glint in her eye from before was now filling her entire face, she looked like an excited child on Christmas morning. Tommy couldn’t help shaking his head with a smile before offering his arm to Hazel who linked her arm with his. Heading out of the room the two were watched by Polly who couldn’t help smiling. Since the War the pair had been cold, even to each other but now that fire was back, even if it was only glowing embers at the moment, it was lit again. It was about to be a roaring bonfire, standing proud and tall for anyone to see, lighting even the inkiest of darkness’s. 

Night fell over the city and there was indeed a bonfire but it wasn’t fuelled by love but rather pictures of the King. Tommy and Hazel stood side by side as people threw pictures of the King onto the already roaring flame. Tommy kept glancing over to Hazel, watching the fire as it danced, the flame making her pale skin glow and her flaming hair bright, her features were soft now as she watched the fire. It was something that they had done in the fields as kids when Tommy, her, and the other kids would dance around the proud flames as they leapt up while different people would sing different songs. That’s where Tommy first heard Hazel sing.   
“Hoginn o, hoginn o, horo horo illean Hoginn o, horo illean, hoginn o hoginn o.” Tommy heard Hazel whispering the Scottish song in Gaelic under her breath as she watched the flames, he couldn’t help but smile, it was things like this that made him have hope. The song was something she'd muttered many times, she'd once told him that it was what the fishermen sang as they sailed off at the start of the day. She'd heard it often when she used to go walking back when she lived in Scotland.  
A reporter had arrived and the Binders began clearing people to the side of the road while Tommy spoke to the man. It only took about five minutes before the reporter left and people began to gather around the fire again and Hazel returned to standing beside Tommy, she placed her arm around his once more as the wind picked up. Tommy felt her shiver even with how close the pair were stood to the fire, he smiled at her. Taking his coat off, he wrapped it around her shoulders before he wrapped his arm around her, pulling her slightly in front of him.   
“What’s this for?” She whispered and she leant her head back and into the crook of his neck,  
“I told you that I’d find you and bring you home. Even if that means just holding you.” She smiled,  
“Let’s get out of here.” She whispered, Tommy nodded before he took her hand and lead her away from the fire towards her house. Hazel’s uncle Harold and Aunt Nellie were stood at the fire with the four kids when Pearl looked around,   
“Where’d Hazel go?” Nellie and Harold shared a look knowing that Tommy was slowly bringing her home.

Arriving back at 27 Watery Lane, Tommy pulled Hazel into his arms, her lips carefully meeting his. It was only a moment later when all caution disappeared and the two kissed deeply as Tommy lifted Hazel into his arms before carrying her upstairs to their room where he lay her on the bed removing her clothes with ease while she attempted to remove all of his layers of clothing,  
“Why do you wear so many fucking layers?” She murmured against his lips making him chuckle.

Morning arose but the pair didn’t move, they didn’t have to, neither had anything to do so they spent the morning lying in each other’s arms.  
“I sometimes feel that I can't breathe, that I’m falling a thousand miles, the shovels are getting closer and closer. Then I spend the night with you and I don’t hear the shovels against the wall.” Tommy’s voice was softened by sleep and thick with a Birmingham accent, Hazel turned to look at him,  
“After the war I was lost, buried in bodies and blood and mud and bullets and bombs and ghosts. And yet in amongst that hell I fell in love with you all over again, you loved me Thomas, you loved me when I didn’t even love myself.” Tommy ran his hand over Hazel’s shoulder causing her to shudder and him to smirk, the two spent the morning talking about anything and everything before finally climbing out of bed and dressing before heading to the Shelby house where the rest of the family were in the kitchen eating,

“Ah! And they live!” Polly called causing John and Arthur to chuckle and Finn to look at the two,  
“Well they do have a glow about them, they’ve obviously been busy.” Arthur shot in, John laughed but didn’t comment,  
“Another word and I’ll knife you, Arthur.” Hazel called with a smile causing John and Arthur to falter, it was the first playful threat she’d given since France. Finn went back to eating while the others carried on chatting about nothing. Tommy took Hazel’s hand and the two headed to Charlie’s yard to get out two horses.

Heading out down the streets the beautiful white horse Tommy got from Johnny Dogs started to rear up and buck, hopping down, Tommy began talking to the horse, soothing it. Tommy began walking on while Hazel stayed sat on her black horse. Passing the side of The Garrison, A bucket filled with god knows what was emptied of its contents right in the path of Tommy and Hazel. Hazel jumped down from the horse just as the blonde barmaid stepped through the doorway,  
“I’m so sorry Mr Shelby, Ms Mercia. I’m Grace by the way.” The woman said, Hazel sent a scrutinizing glare at the woman while Tommy scoffed,  
“Yes, we know who you are.” Grace looked at the horse Tommy was holding the reigns to, she seemed to be ignoring Hazel completely,  
“What’s his name?” Tommy looked to Hazel,  
“He doesn’t have one. We are busy people Grace. Good to see you now we really must be on our way.” Hazel said, elegantly climbing up onto her horse as Tommy climbed up onto his. Trotting away until the two were out of Grace’s sight, Hazel whispered to Tommy,  
“I’ll race you to the old oak.” Tommy nodded and the two began cantering down the streets like they’d done many times before, people were pulling themselves out of the way as the two raced each other through the fields. Hazel was at the oak a few moments before Tommy, she’d had enough time to climb down and fasten the black stallion to the fence.  
Tommy pulled off his coat and lay it on the floor beneath the tree, pulling Hazel down to the floor with him both lay resting on their elbows,   
“I win.” Hazel mused,  
“Yeah well… you were on a familiar horse,” Hazel scoffed at Tommy,  
“You chose to ride him.” She shot back with a smile, turning to look at Tommy, he placed a kiss on her lips. Hazel smiled as the pair dropped to lying down and looking at the clouds,  
“Remember when we used to do this as kids, Tom?” He smiled,  
“So the Cheltenham races are coming up and I’m going, you fancy joining me?” Tommy whispered,  
“Only if ye buy my dress.” Hazel responded with a light smile,  
“I was gonna anyway.” He muttered. The two stood and climbed back onto the horses,  
“I’ll race ye to Charlie’s yard.” Called Hazel causing the two to canter off once again, knowing all the short cuts, the two cut nearly five minutes off of their travel time and arrived back at Charlie’s yard laughing at each other. The moment they were off of the horses, they slipped into their usual façade of vicious gangsters.

Night fell over the city as Hazel headed home before cooking up a bit of food just as Tommy came into the house,  
“Want some?” Tommy shook his head yes and Hazel split the food,  
“What was up with Ada?” Hazel asked while the two sat down and began eating,  
“She’s pregnant.” He stated simply causing Hazel to splutter,  
“Who’s is it?”  
“Freddie Thorne’s,” Hazel stopped,  
“Wait… fuck.” Tommy chuckled at Hazel’s reaction. Things had defiantly changed since France, before they went away, Freddie and Hazel were close, they were like brother and sister but then things changed and they headed out to War and none of them came back and their medals were rusting at the bottom of the cut.

Friday morning arose and the pair had major business to deal with, Tommy was having to go to Lickey Tea Rooms while Hazel had a meeting with one of her best clients who wanted to increase their shipping quantity.  
“A Mr Andrews is here to see you Ma’am.” Reported Amanda from the doorway,  
“Mr Andrews, it’s good to finally be running the meeting rather than watching from the side.” Mr Andrews nodded,  
“Yes, I must say, your mothers methods were becoming ineffective.” The two turned their discussion to the increase in shipment size,  
“You know that if this goes through, your company gives 40% of its increased takings to us for the first year before the prior agreed 20%?” The man nodded,  
“I do understand, yes, and with a double in our sales there will be an increase in £600 a month that Mercia shippers will be earning.” Hazel nodded,  
“Then we have a deal. Just sign here.” She motioned to a point on the file for the man to sign,  
“Thank you for your time.” Hazel shook the man’s hand before he lefty the room.

Hazel headed out of the office without a comment, when Tommy was gone, Hazel was cold, icy cold and it was obvious to everyone she passed, people moved out of her way, a lot of the Peaky Blinders feared her and none of them could explain why. There were many men in Small Heath who recognised Hazel’s face due to her being the one to stich them up and save their lives in France she hated that people saw her as weak or a pushover due to her gender. She saw the battlefields and saw men die, she had men die while she was putting them back together, that was more personal than any of them had experienced.  
It was late by the time Tommy arrived back in Birmingham and when he did, Hazel was already sound asleep. Lying down in bed he pulled her close, inhaling her scent as he did so, her hand fell onto his side as she cuddled into his embrace. Tommy’s eyes drooped closed as he fell into sleep. The shovels didn’t appear against the wall and he was only awoken by a loud yelling below the window and Hazel kicking him,  
“Curly wants you.” She mumbled before kicking him towards the edge of the bed, she kept pushing him until he fell out of the bed, in doing so Tommy watched her turn over and wrap herself in the blanket making him shake his head slightly. He pulled on some clothes before taking one last look at Hazel who was sleeping soundly once more as he head out to follow Curly.

The following morning, Hazel came down the stairs to see Tommy reading the paper, he saw her come into the living room and shot a playful glare at her,  
“What?” She asked innocently,  
“Oh I don’t know maybe the fact that I got literally kicked out of bed.” She feigned shock as she looked at him,  
“Who would do such a thing to poor Thomas Shelby?” She said just as he got up, she ran towards the back door and he followed her into the small back garden and the rain, Tommy wrapped his arms around her and the two just stood holding each other as the rain drenched them. The pair headed down to join the rest of the Shelby family and the group stayed working in the betting shop late into the afternoon.  
As Saturday evening approached, the brothers and Hazel headed down to The Garrison where they began paying cards,  
“Shuffle the fucking deck, John.” Hazel said to the youngest of them in the group,  
“You could always go an’ play snap with Finn if you can't handle it.” Arthur added,  
“Fuck off.” John shot back while Tommy just sat listening,  
“Right I’m getting drinks, what’d we want?” Hazel called,  
“No whisky.” Tommy said,  
“Why not? We expecting trouble?” Hazel asked her lover,  
“Just get beer’s alright?” The woman walked off, opening the door, the sound of terrible singing filled the snug,  
“Jesus Christ Tommy, what the Hell made you let ‘em sing?” John asked   
“Yeah what did make you change your mind?” Tommy didn’t need to answer as the boys heard Hazel singing quietly causing John and Arthur to laugh as the door closed.  
“Well, I mean it’s about time.” Tommy looked at his older brother,  
“Time for what?” Already knowing the answer,  
“Time you got yourself a woman.” John answered,  
“You stay where you are Tom.” Arthur advised,  
“Yeah you remember what dad used to say,” John said before he and Arthur spoke together,  
“’Fast women an’ slow horses will ruin your life!’” Hazel took that moment to come back in to the snug,  
“Just play the bloody hand.” Tommy sighed causing the two boys to laugh. 

Silence filled them at movement outside,  
“Coppers?” John questioned,  
“No.” Was all Tommy could say before silence filled the rest of the pub,   
“Is there any man here named Shelby?” They heard yelled from a Cockney accented voice. None of them moved but shared glances with each other, the noise of a single gunshot filled the small space,  
“I said is there any man ‘ere named Shelby?” Tommy looked to Hazel,  
“Don’t move from this room Hayleigh but open the hatch.” Tommy whispered almost silently, the brothers left the snug,  
“Harry get these men a drink. Everyone else go home!” Tommy called causing everyone to scuttle.  
Once everyone left, Grace placed drinks on the table before being sent home,  
“I never approved of women in pubs. Especially not when they look like that.” He said just as one of his men opened the door to the snug and pulled out Hazel.  
“Ah what do we have ‘ere?” Questioned Kimber, pushing her hair from her face as one of his men held her arms,  
“Get off of me.” She spat at him, the man sat at the table but told his men to keep a hold of her for a moment.  
“You wanted men named Shelby, you’ve got three of ‘em.” Tommy stated, Kimber looked at the three men in front of him,  
“Right, I'd never heard of you, then I did hear of you, some little Didicoy razor gang. I thought to myself, so what? But then you fuck me over so now you have my undivided attention. By the way, which one am I talking to? Who's the boss?” Arthur coughed,  
“Well I’m the oldest.” Kimber laughed coldly,  
“Ha. Clearly,” John glared at the other man,  
“Are you laughing at my brother,” The man holding Hazel tightened his grip as Kimber snapped,  
“Right, he’s the oldest,” he shouted pointing at Arthur, “You’re the thickest,” He added pointing at John, “Now I’m told that the boss is called Tommy and I’m guessing that’s you ‘cause you’re looking me up and down like I’m a fucking tart.” The man snapped,  
“I wanna know what you want.” Tommy stated coolly,  
“There were suspicious betting patterns at Kempton Park. A horse called Monaghan Boy. He won by a length twice and then finished last with £3,000 bet on him.” The man sat next to Kimber said curtly,  
“Which one am I talking to? Which one of you is the boss?” Tommy said, knowing he was playing a risky game, Hazel looked at him but this time Tommy was refusing to meet her eyes,   
“I am Mr Kimber's advisor and accountant.” The man sitting next to Kimber spoke again,  
“And I'm the fucking boss, OK? Right, end of parley, you fixed a race without my permission. You fucking Gypsy scum what live off the war pensions of these poor old Garrison Lane widows! That's your level! I am Billy Kimber, I run the races and you fixed one of them so I'm going to have you shot against a post.” Kimber’s voice became condescending towards the end of his little rant.  
Tommy rolled his eyes while Kimber had his back turned,  
“Mr Kimber.” He called and when the other man turned back around, he threw a bullet at him, “Look at it that has my name carved into it. It’s from the Lee family, you’re also at war with the Lee’s, Mr Kimber, am I right? The Lees are attacking your bookies and taking your money. Your men can't control them. You need help.” Tommy said, Kimber’s advisor turned to look at him,  
“Maybe we should listen to what Mr Shelby has to say before we make our decision.” Tommy nodded before he spoke again, his voice not wavering as he did so,  
“Right, the Lees are doing a lot of talking at the fairs. They have a lot of kin. They're saying the racetracks are easy meat because the police are busy with strikes. Now, we have connections. We know how they operate. You have muscle. Together we can beat them. Divided, maybe not.” The advisor looked at Kimber once more,  
“Mr Kimber, perhaps we should take some time for reflection. Possibly make arrangements for a second meeting.” Tommy wanted to see how far he could go,  
“I admire you, Mr Kimber. You started with nothing and built a legitimate business. It would be an honour to work with you, Mr Kimber.” Kimber scoffed,  
“No one works with me, people work for me.” He threw a coin that landed on the floor in front of Tommy,  
“Pick it up, Pikey.” Kimber hissed, Just as Tommy went to John stood, ready for a fight, Tommy held out a hand,  
“Sit. Sit down.” He said to his brother as he lifted the coin,  
“For your ceiling.” He said cockily, he left the room, clicking his fingers and the man holding Hazel dropped her arms and left as well.  
“We will be a Cheltenham.” The Advisor said, Tommy nodded but his eyes were on Hazel,  
“As will I.” He added and with that the last of Kimber’s men left.

Tommy quickly locked the door,  
“Please let me knife the cocky bastard.” Hazel requested causing the men to chuckle slightly,  
“Not yet.” Tommy said, “Did they hurt you?” He asked, his voice filled with concern.  
“Nah,” she shook her head, Arthur coughed,  
“So you picked a fight with the Lee’s on purpose. Tommy, we can't mess with Billy fucking Kimber.” Arthur called exasperatedly,  
“Get yourself a decent haircut, man. We’re goin’ to the races.” Tommy spoke with a smile as Hazel shook her head at him,  
“This can either go very well or very wrong.” Tommy met her eyes. And took her hand, taking her home.  
“I’ve ordered your dress, should be ready to collect by next week, I’ll have one of the boy’s take it to your aunt and uncle’s.” Hazel smiled and hugged Tommy to her.  
Tommy had lifted Hazel from the mud but she still had to make it back to England yet and that still meant a hell of a lot of time and work but Tommy wasn’t going to give up on her, he’d promised to bring her home and he was going to.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for the reviews and please let me know what you think of Tommy and Hazel's relationship, I don't want it to seem forced so please let me know if you see anywhere I can improve it. The next few chapters are planned out in rough so should be written up in the next few days. So until then :)


End file.
